


The Ancient Warrior (Original Pathway)

by AlldaladiesluvLeoHoO_SpidypoolFan



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 1940s Percy Jackson, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Controlled Percy Jackson, Female Percy Jackson, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sally Jackson Dies, Sally Jackson is a Demigod, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28272288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlldaladiesluvLeoHoO_SpidypoolFan/pseuds/AlldaladiesluvLeoHoO_SpidypoolFan
Summary: Percy was a less than average girl of the 1930s in the fact that, unlike other girls, she wanted to join the army. And join the army she did! Her brother Bucky join the army just before her, but her best friend Steve couldn't get in. She and Bucky protected him from bullies. But now, that's irrelevant seeing as things went south.***DISCLAIMER: This may be uncomfortable or triggering for some people as it has Blood, Murder, Self-Harm, Suicide, Panic Attacks, and Death!! If any of these things bother you, please proceed with caution!!***Fem!Percy x AvengersI DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS SAVE FOR SOME OF THE PLOT! THE REST BELONGS TO RICK RIORDAN AND MARVEL/STAN LEE!This is also posted on Wattpad under the sister profile of mine there, @AllDaLadiesLuvLeoHoO which I wrote under a similar title, The Ancient Warrior. The story there is where I have taken into account what the people reading want me to write, however they didn't take my nudge, so I'm writing what I had originally planned to write down here.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. The Exchange

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Ancient Warrior](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/730545) by @AllDaLadiesLuvLeo. 



> A/N: This is set before PJO starts, but the PJO series starts before WWII. It will skip over the years of PJO and HoO, though those stories will be mentioned slightly throughout the book. My goal is to start from before CA:TFA and continue on until A:E so hopefully I can keep it going that far. It will probably be spaced into more than one book though.
> 
> I don't own anything but some of the plot. The rest belongs to Rick Riordan and Marvel/Stan Lee.

_**"There is no greater warrior, than a mother protecting her child."- N. K.** _ _**Jemisin** _

The night was cold and dark as she ran up the street. She clutched the bundle in her arms close to her chest, and refused to look back. Looking back now could mean the difference between life and death. Not for her though. For the small baby girl wrapped in the bundle she held so close.

The year was 1917, and Sally Jackson was currently being chased by pure _evil._ She knew that she wouldn't be able to run from it for much longer, the streets of New York only went so far and her body could only take so much stress. But she could hear the snarls of the beasts coming closer to her.

 _Mother, please take care of my daughter! Let her survive this night!_ Sally silently prayed. Aphrodite would often listen to Sally, with her being one of the only daughters that she has to personify what love truly means.

Suddenly Sally saw it. A woman on the doorstep of a house holding a small baby. She could practically hear the voice of her mother saying, _Leave the child there. There is where she will be safe._

And so she quickly ran up to the woman. She didn't seem at all surprised by Sally's arrival. She seemed to be more alert and looked around before gesturing towards the baby girl in her Sally's arms. Without hesitation, the infant was placed into the strange woman's arm(The other arm still held the other baby). The woman then handed Sally a doll. Until she had, Sally hadn't even noticed it was right beside the woman. It felt as though it were another child though, but Sally could tell that it was not.

And then Sally ran off into the night, still being chased by monsters. The monsters hadn't seen the exchange of her daughter to the woman. They ran and ran, until they were out of the city and then some. And then Sally could run no longer.

As the monsters approached, Sally knew that she could do nothing against them. But still she tried! She fought them with her bare hands! It was not enough. They fought her until she could no longer move even an inch. And so she closed her eyes and waited. Her very last thought was a prayer. _Mother. Poseidon. Watch over her. Watch over your blood. Watch over Perseus_ _Amphitrite_ _Jackson._


	2. I'm Steven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."- Helen Keller
> 
> .
> 
> "I'm Steven."
> 
> Percy rolled her eyes and huffed. "Steve it is then!"
> 
> "Percy, that's rude!" Bucky started to scold slightly.
> 
> "No, I don't mind. If that's what you want to call me, then I'm Steve. Besides, I think I remember you two a bit."
> 
> Then it clicked for Bucky. Percy, as usual, was a bit behind.

**_"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."- Helen Keller_ **

(Eleven Years Later)

Things weren't looking so great for the Barnes family. Why you may ask? Because their father, George, had died recently in an accident at Camp Lehigh. With Winnifred, their mother, having died years earlier, they were alone in the world.

Overall, life wasn't all that nice. Percy and her brother, Bucky, were out on the streets, though Bucky still is able to get occasional training at Camp Lehigh.

Percy and Bucky were just leaving the corner shop(Mr. and Mrs Martin would often give us bread when we came by) when they heard a commotion in the Alley next to it. When they looked to it, they saw three boys, obviously already teenagers, beating up a kid who looked to be at least a year younger than themselves. And he was taking the hits like a champ.

Percy looked at Bucky and he looked back, shaking his head, knowing exactly what was going on in her head. Percy, of course, didn't listen to the silent plead to do nothing. She never was one to let others be picked on.

She snuck around the teens and got as close to them as she could. The boy saw her and looked confused, but not for long as he continued taking the hits. When Percy was right next to the teens, she brought her fingers to her mouth. The boy quickly caught on and covered his ears, as did Bucky, still at the mouth of the alley. And she whistled her loudest taxi whistle.

The teens screamed and brought their hands up to their ears, stopping their attack on the boy. In the confusion, Percy grabbed hold of the boy's arm and started to drag him away. He quickly found his footing, though he lost it several times.

Together, Percy, Bucky and the boy ran, though the boy started wheezing quite a lot very quickly. Bucky just picked him up and placed him on his back when the boy stumbled again, though it seemed he was a bit surprised by the weight of him. They stopped in the alley of the near by cinema to catch their breath, Bucky putting the boy down. The boy took quite a bit longer to stop wheezing though, even if he was carried most of the way.

"Thanks." He said when he had finally caught enough of his breath to speak. Percy could see the beginnings of a nasty black eye and his lip was slit and bleeding slightly.

"Well I couldn't just see what was happening and then leave you to them now could I." Percy responded smiling. "I'm Perseus, but you can call me Percy. That's James, my twin brother, but he likes Bucky better." She said pointing to Bucky when introducing him.

"I'm Steven."

Percy rolled her eyes and huffed. "Steve it is then!"

"Percy, that's rude!" Bucky started to scold slightly.

"No, I don't mind. If that's what you want to call me, then I'm Steve. Besides, I think I remember you two a bit."

Then it clicked for Bucky. Percy, as usual, was a bit behind.

"Your mom's name is Sarah right?"

Steve nodded.

"Well, Steve, we should get you home so that you could get your injuries treated." Bucky told him.

"Yeah," Steve nodded before it seemed as though he remembered something. "Do you two need anything. Momma taught me that when someone helps you, you help them back."

"Do you have a place that we could stay?" Percy asked before Bucky could stop her. Bucky seemed about to apologise for Percy's question before Steve spoke up.

"I'm sure you could stay with us if momma lets you. It shouldn't cause to much trouble."

And, following Steve, they all went to the small apartment that Steve and his mother Sarah called home. They would all have tough times in the future.


	3. Don't Pity Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you'll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it. And you'll survive."- Cassandra Clare
> 
> .
> 
> I kinda feel bad for Bucky. He was training and we were here eating blue cookies, his favorite snack.
> 
> ... Nah. Not after he ate them all last time. He doesn't deserve my pity.

**_"Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you'll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it. And you'll survive."- Cassandra Clare_ **

_Steve's POV(8 years later)_

Sometimes, Steve wondered if God was just a grumpy old coot who worked only to screw over the truly good people of the world. It sure felt like it to him.

Every year since Percy and Bucky had joined the Rogers residence, Percy had disappeared every summer. She was so kind to me and others, so was Bucky, but at a young age, she lost both her parents and starting from Christmas the year she turned 14, he saw her return home with eyes even more beat ***** then the return before. She was unraveling at the seems, and one year, the one she turned 16 she disappeared at Christmas and didn't reappear until Thanksgiving! Though, with every return she became more of a dish *****! She was always behind the grind ***** but with how much she disappears, I couldn't blame her. **(1930-40s slang: Beat= Broke/broken, Dish= An attractive woman, Behind the grind= Behind in one's studies)**

I had seen the random scars that had definitely not been there before on her arms, and dare I say I looked that low, on her legs as well when they're visible. I was insanely worried for her, because she would often keep herself awake to keep the nightmares away.

She would never be without company, refusing to be in a room by herself. She basically became mine and Bucky's filly *****. I was confused, because Bucky was confused. He didn't know what was wrong, only that something _was_ wrong! **(1930-40s slang: Filly= Constant girl companion to a boy)**

Bucky had moved out a few weeks after they turned 18. He had left to train at Camp Lehigh, like his father had done.

But one thing more than others affected me recently. Momma. Her work as a nurse in the TB ward caused her to become a lunger ***** herself! She had died. She'll be with Pops, I'm sure. **(1930-40s slang: Lunger= Someone with tuberculosis)**

The thing that confused me the most is that Percy, beautiful, scarred, traumatized and broken Percy was comforting me. While I really do appreciate it, I can't understand how she's able to do it with all of her own problems balanced on top of the pile of mine that she keeps busy with correcting. She doesn't have to, but she does it anyway. She, too is in training to join the military, though I can tell that she's working harder than the men.

Why should the idea of a dame ***** being strong enough to get into the army be scoffed at? With all Percy has been through and all she's able to do now, I'm confident that she could get in! She's stronger than most of the soldiers there! **(1930-40s slang: Dame= Woman)**

"Hey crumb *****!!" **(1930-40s slang: Crumb= A fink, a loser by social standards)**

_Maybe if I dangle_ _ *****_ _, the pill_ _ *****_ _will leave me alone_ _,_ I cursed inwardly then. Percy was in the shop and I couldn't leave her there! Only a curve ***** or a pill would leave a pip ***** like Percy at the shop by herself! **(1930-40s slang: Dangle= Leave in a hurry, Pill= Disagreeable person, Curve= Disappointment, Pip= Attractive person)**

The pill gripped my shirt and dragged me to the alley behind the shop before throwing a punch. Then he took my five spot ***** and I worked hard for that so I fought back, like usual. And like usual, I ended up being kicked down to the ground. **(1930-40s slang: Five spot= Five dollar bill)**

Then I saw a particular pair of pies ***** turn in my direction. The familiar color of sea-green in those pies was unmistakeable. She came running up and with one well placed stem ***** the pill was down on the floor, groaning in pain while clutching his nether regions. She snatched my dough ***** from him and looked at me. **(1930-40s slang: Pies= Eyes, Stem= Leg, Dough= Money)**

"Shake a leg ***** Steve!" And bolted out the mouth of the alley with me close behind. Right as we were passing the mouth of the alley though, Percy called back over her shoulder, "Twit *****!" **(1930-40s slang: Shake a leg= Hurry up, Twit= Fool or idiot)**

We ran until we got to the street that our cave ***** was on, the bags that Percy held in her arms jostling about. Being the person I am raised the way I was, I took three of the bags, leaving Percy with the other two. How she manages to carry this much and _run_ with it, I will never understand. Because these bags were all _heavy_! **(1930-40s slang: Cave= House or apartment)**

"You'll have to be careful with those Steve, one of the bags you have is where the hen fruit ***** are," Percy told me. **(1930-40s slang: Hen fruit= Eggs)**

Since we were little, Percy had become taller than me by almost half a foot. She'd only gotten to be as cute as a bug's ear ***** though most other men would call her a dish. While she is a dish, I see her as more of a sister than anything. **(1930-40s slang: Cute as a bug's ear = Very cute)**

When we got into the cave, I made for the lights, while Percy took the bags from my arms and made for the kitchen. Halfway through us putting all of the things she'd bought away, she made an off hand comment.

"I'm going to start training in a woman's division of the army."

I almost dropped the hen fruit.

"What?!"

"It's not to big, the fellas are still trying to keep their spotlight, so there's only around 30 other dolls ***** there, but it's something. It's going to be small but, we'll be getting similar training to the men. I'll be starting for the army just like Buck." **(1930-40s slang: Dolls = Women)**

Well that's surprising. I knew that she would be able to get into the army, but I never thought it would be so soon. Bucky still has at least a year before he's considered a full member to the army, but if she goes off to training, I'll be more alone than before. It kinda helps to have a doll who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty around. I'm an easy target for bullies.

I really don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from. Percy doesn't like bullies either, but she's actually strong enough to stand up to them in a physical fight. I'm just... Me. Just another thing that makes Percy so much better than me.

I came back to reality with Percy snapping her fingers under my nose. When I startled back, she giggled softly, with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"You totally spaced out on me! That's not in your job description, it's in mine." She chuckled.

"Sorry, I was just surprised is all." I said, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly.

"Cookies?" Percy asked me hopefully.

"Sure. They're going to be your famous blue ones right?" I asked her curious.

"What other color would they be? Purple?" She joked headed towards the cookie ingredients which were already out. Of course she would have made them, even if I had said no. I made the mistake of saying no to the cookies once. I shuddered in fear at the thought.

Halfway through making the cookies, a handful of flour was thrown my way. I looked up to see Percy still mixing up ingredients, looking completely innocent of the crime. But she missed something. Her hand was still covered in flour!

"This means war," I whispered, but I knew she heard it because her mouth twitched up into a smile.

And it really did mean war. 15 minutes later, we were both covered in flour, Percy having a blue handprint on her arm, and an egg in her hair. I however, had three eggs on me and was covered in flour head to toe, blue tinting my left arm up to the elbow.

"I win!!" Percy danced around the kitchen taking her victory lap.

In the end, we just both laughed it off and finished making the cookies. As always, they were the food of heaven! I kinda feel bad for Bucky. He was training and we were here eating blue cookies, his favorite snack.

... Nah. Not after he ate them all last time. He doesn't deserve my pity. Not after that!

After the cookies were gone and the mess in the kitchen and on ourselves was cleaned, we hit the hay. With Percy still refusing to be in a room by herself, we were in the same room. I took the small mattress on the floor and she took the bed and I quickly followed suit once I heard Percy's own breathing even out in the unmistakable pattern of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided on putting the meanings of the old slang after it is used rather than down here because then it will no longer be relevant. Sorry if it gets in the way of some of you.


	4. A True Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."- Lemony Snicket
> 
> .
> 
> "Looks like you two've got your orders."
> 
> "Sergeant James Barnes with the 107th."
> 
> "Corporal Perseus Barnes, the 107th. The 107th ships to England first thing tomorrow." I told him.
> 
> "This is our last night." Bucky continued after a second.
> 
> "So, what's the first stop? Church?"
> 
> I snorted and Bucky grinned. The two of them don't know about the godly side of things. Bucky still thinks that I'm his sister, I'm sure. But we were raised together, so we might as well be siblings.
> 
> "Yeah, maybe were going to the second stop first." I said, unable to keep the laugh out of my words from him talking about church. We all started our way out of the alley.
> 
> "So where are we going?" Steve asked, obviously confused. Bucky got out the newspaper and handed it to him.
> 
> Both Bucky and I said in perfect sync, "The future."

_**"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."- Lemony Snicket** _

_(4 years later)_

_Percy's POV_

Bucky and I had both gotten our orders. We would both be shipping out tomorrow with the 107th infantry to England. I was the only broad ***** in the 107th. My pally ***** , Peggy, was transferred to the Strategic Scientific Reserve instead of placed in the 107th, but that was fine. The SSR only had one spot open and I fell short for being a scrub ***** in school(The teachers said I was lazy and didn't try hard enough, but I swear I worked harder than everyone else and still failed school), but I knew that she would do well there. **(1930-40s slang: Broad= Woman, Pally= Friend, Scrub= Poor student)**

We were on our way to try and find Steve. He hadn't been at the cave ***** , so Bucky had the idea to check his beat down spots. I wasn't at all surprised to find him in the one behind the cinema. **(1930-40s slang: Cave= House or apartment)**

Bucky came up to the twit ***** and kicked him square in his arse, while I grabbed his arm and flipped him over my shoulder when he tried to hit Bucky. I faintly heard Bucky tell him to go pick on someone his own size. **(1930-40s slang: Twit= Fool or idiot)**

"Sometimes, I think you like getting punched." Bucky told Steve.

"I had him on the ropes." Steve said, getting up. An enlistment form fell out of his pocket and I picked it up to read.

Enlistment forms were easier to read because of the kippy ***** way they're printed. **(1930-40s slang: Kippy= Neat)**

"How many times is this?" Bucky asked when he saw the form.

I looked up after reading. "So you're from Paramus now? It's still illegal to lie on an enlistment form Steve. And seriously, Jersey?"

Steve frowned after taking in our uniforms.

"Looks like you two've got your orders."

"Sergeant James Barnes with the 107th."

"Corporal Perseus Barnes, the 107th. The 107th ships to England first thing tomorrow." I told him.

"This is our last night." Bucky continued after a second.

"So, what's the first stop? Church?"

I snorted and Bucky grinned. The two of them don't know about the godly side of things. Bucky still thinks that I'm his sister, I'm sure. But we were raised together, so we might as well be siblings.

"Yeah, maybe were going to the second stop first." I said, unable to keep the laugh out of my words from him talking about church. We all started our way out of the alley.

"So where are we going?" Steve asked, obviously confused. Bucky got out the newspaper and handed it to him.

Both Bucky and I said in perfect sync, "The future."

.

The future was interesting to say the least. Bucky had found himself a doll ***** to take with him, and because I wasn't against it and Steve wouldn't have been able to hold a conversation with any other doll, I was his date. **(1930-40s slang: Doll= Woman)**

We went to the show and watched as Howard Stark made a flivver ***** that could float... For five seconds. It looked like the motors for the things that actually made the flivver hover made the familiar popping sound of a small explosion. **(1930-40s slang: Flivver= A car)**

I expected as such. Even for a son of Hephaestus, Howard had always been a bit clumsy and forgetful with his work. It often went haywire, exploded, or didn't work at all. But even so, he's still one of the smartest people in cabin 9.

When his inventions do work, they eggs in coffee ***** , and they eggs in coffee long. The automatic farming system he made when he was 6 was still running strong and promised to work perfectly for at least 40 more years. Though, he did usually gravitate more towards building things that no one else thinks would ever work. If you tell him he can't accomplish something, he'll work until he does accomplish it and it _works_. **(1930-40s slang: Eggs in coffee= Run smoothly)**

During the Titan war, he made a bomb that halved the 700 monsters fighting cabin 9. The _Empusa_ didn't even know it was there until she stepped on it and set it off.

But back on track, Steve disappeared. I looked around and saw him entering another enlistment booth. I just sighed before making my way over to it. Bucky was still too interested in the show, but he would catch on to what Steve was doing soon enough.

Bucky was apparently right behind me now, and then ran ahead. He went in. When I got there, Bucky headed back out, and looked to me.

"You can stay here if you want. I'm taking Connie dancing." And he turned to the dish ***** who had just appeared, took her arm, and off they went. **(1930-40s slang: Dish= Attractive woman)**

When I got in there, I saw Steve heading into a station to check out his health. Then I felt a presence next to me.

"Hello Corporal Barnes." I heard a Germanic accent say.

Turning to the source, I found Dr. Erskine. I smiled as I remembered him from when I had attempted to get a position as a SSR Agent.

"Hello doctor. You didn't happen to hear what the Sergeant and the little man were saying did you?"

"It sounded like the Sergeant was imploring the little man to not register," the Doctor analysed the situation. "It also sounded like this little man has tried to get into the army before but failed."

"Yeah, Steve is like that. He never does give up. But, as someone once said, 'A true soldier does not admit defeat before the battle.'"

He nodded his head in agreement. Then, he took a breath before speaking. "What kind of man is he?"

I was slightly confused but still answered. "Well for starters, he's an easy target for pills *****. I've been getting them away from him for almost as long as I've known him. He's a good man though. His mom raised him alone, and she taught him well. He knows how a person should behave towards others and does his best to help people. He can't do much, but even so he tries. He does his best to make others happy. He can be fun though, once in a while." **(1930-40s slang: Pill= Disagreeable person)**

The Doctor nodded and went off to a nurse. He mumbled something to her and she went into the area that Steve had gone. The Doctor went someplace. Moments later, she came out with a young doctor. A soldier went in and I saw the Doctor with a file go in after him.

Not even five minutes later, the Doctor and Steve came out. The Doctor talked to Steve a bit, looking for a stamp, and then smiled as he put the stamp down on the page. Steve smiled down at it, and I could tell that, after five tries at getting into the army, he had finally succeeded.


	5. WHY!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart - the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it - and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal."- Maurice R. Franks

** WARNING!!!Some of the things in this chapter might make you uncomfortable!!! **

**_"Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart - the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it - and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal."- Maurice R. Franks_ **

_Percy's POV(a few months after Steve is injected with the super soldier serum)_

Things were not looking good. The 107th was sent out to Azono and things were **_NOT_** looking good. Being the only doll in the 107th came with many many disadvantages. But some of those disadvantages could be used to my advantage.

Like the fact that no one bothered to pay attention to the doll in the army! I could go around and take down whoever I wanted, because what ever could a doll accomplish during a fight? A lot!

Quickly surveilling the ongoing fighting around me, I could see that the other men of the 107th weren't do as well. So I did what I did best. I went to who looked like they needed help the most. Which was everyone, everywhere on the battlefield...

.

I don't remember much only that the battle failed and it took close to 6 men from the opposing side to subdue me. I was hit over the head repeatedly and then nothing.

When I woke up, I had this pounding in my head and I couldn't move at all. If not for the distant sound of an explosion and wind on my face, I would have thought I was dead. But I knew what it should be like when I died, and this was not it.

I could tell that my hair was a mess and if the pain coming from all over my body told me anything, it's that the Aphrodite kids would faint from how bad I looked at the moment. One problem! I couldn't open my eyes! My muscles felt like they were made of lead and I could faintly hear a man with a German accent muttering.

"Not a scratch he said. Fine, there will not be a scratch. Not one scratch."

It was cold. Very cold, and I could sense that there was a lot of snow around, but just as with my body, I couldn't move it an inch no matter how hard I tried.

The only reason I knew how much time was passing, was because of the soft ticking of a wrist watch. So I listened. I had gotten to the count of 21,523 ticks when we slowed down. From the way the wind isn't blowing through my hair anymore, I could tell that we weren't moving very fast. The sound beneath the wheels sounded like a mixture of rocks and slightly damp leaves and twigs. It smelled like the forest but the smell of risen earth and the slightly uneven ground suggested a mountain. As did the feel of a giant formation of rock through the damp air.

Just great. In the mountains. I couldn't remember the geography of the areas around Azono, so I couldn't tell where I might be.

I could feel two unknown men lift me up from my tossed position in the vehicle, a flivver probably.(no duh, am I going to know any of the enemies, most likely not) The next thing I knew I was being hooked up to a device, but what confused me most about it, was that it was a chair, not a table.

Something was put on my head and both of my arms were restrained.

Another man stepped into the room and he walked with a great purpose by the sound of his footfalls.

"Is this really the only subject you were able to salvage Dr. Zola?" A commanding voice spoke.

"My apologies, but she was the only one light enough for me to carry. She is quite petite." Timid voice said back.

"Check her physical condition first. Look for any sicknesses. If she is relatively healthy then we can continue."

"Of course." I tried so hard to move when he said this. They can't see them! I'm not something you can just use! I'm not! I'M NOT!! A tear of anger slipped out my closed eyes.

"It appears that the subject is conscious." The commanding voice noted.

"Oh! I will fix that righ-"

"No. With the sedatives you gave the subject earlier, it should be enough to keep even me trapped in my body for a couple of days. The subject won't be able to fight back. Only put the subject back under if there are signs of improved movement Doctor. We aren't wasting anything on the subject if we can help it."

I couldn't stop it. I felt a few more tears leak out the sides of my eyes and make their way down my face.

Suddenly the commanding voice was much closer.

"Don't be like that. This can be practice for later, keeping you a prisoner in your own body." I tried desperately to get away! But it was in vain. I felt his hand move up and wipe my tears away. I wanted to scream! Why!

Why why why Why Why WHy WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO US? WHAT HAVE WE EVER DONE TO DESERVE THIS!? DO THE FATES LOVE TOYING WITH US SO MUCH THAT THEY CAN'T LEAVE US ALONE? LEAVE _ME_ ALONE!

I felt as they took off my clothes. At least they had the decency to keep my bra and underwear on. When they did, I heard a few gasp. No doubt at the amount of scars littering my body.

This only stopped them for a moment though. I was given a full physical, as much as could be given to a person who couldn't move. My eyes were pried open and light shown in them. This was very difficult. Because once an eye was opened, it didn't close again. I saw the room around me.

I couldn't move my eyes in any direction, just stare at the room in front of me. I could see a tray of medical instruments. I could see a man who was short and wearing round glasses.

I could see a sink and I could see a drain on the floor in the corner of the room near the door. My eyes started to hurt around then and watered. But with my eyes watering, it just made me able to see better.

I could see my body in front of me littered with scars, most old from the Titan and Giant wars, and some new, like a burn on my middle right thigh from an _Empusa_ that was very clumsy and tripped over her bronze and donkey legs. There were bites, slashes, stabs, scratches, acids, spider web designs, cuts, frost bites, scars that had to heal naturally and scars that were sewn shut. I had a few lichtenberg figures on my arms from fights and disagreements with Thalia and Jason.

In the sink I saw a very suspicious looking fire. It smelled like burning cloth.

And then the man seemed to realize that I could see and shut my eyes again. I was wiped down, which felt very weird, a needle injected into my arm and the feeling of blood being pulled came. My hair was cleaned and my nails trimmed, it felt like I was being made ready as a sacrifice or something along those lines. Around 2 hours later, I was all done up nicely(the Aphrodite kids would have liked the masterpiece that I was made into).

Only difference between earlier and now, is that I haven't been clothed yet. _So this twit burned my clothes._ Was my only though before the door opened once again.

"So she has gone through the game of torture, has she?" The commanding voice from earlier asked.

"It appears so. And from what I can gather from her blood, she may have been poisoned once or twice recently. Though, there isn't a sufficient amount of the poisons in her system now, so I can't trace what kinds they were." It was the Doctor.

"So she is a perfect candidate?"

"Yes." The Doctor said to the commanding man without hesitation.

There was a pause before the response came. "Give her some of my blood, an implant and then put her in the machine Dr. Zola. See to it that she is put on ice afterwards."

"The ice here or...?"

"The ice up there will suffice."

"Of course."


	6. Ready To Comply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you want to know the outcome of a game before the game has even started, you need to control each side."- David Icke

**_"If you want to know the outcome of a game before the game has even started, you need to control each side."- David Icke_ **

_(5 years later) Percy's POV_

"Страстное желание."Longing.

"Проржавевший." rusted.

"Печь."furnace.

"Рассвет." daybreak.

"Семнадцать."seventeen.

"Доброкачественный." benign.

"Девять." nine.

"Возвращение домой." homecoming.

"Один." one.

"Грузовой автомобиль." freight car.

I woke up. I am empty. I cannot remember who I am. But I am, "Готовы соблюдать."Ready to comply.

_"Good. She is operational. Soldier, find this one some clothes and see to it that she is trained."_

The sound of footsteps left the room as a young looking man stalked out.

"Готовы соблюдать." I repeated.

_"Of course you are. Wait here, you will be given further orders soon, but until then, you will learn to respond to the name_ _PAB_ _-24."_ The stern looking man told me. The only response I gave him was a curt nod.

The young soldier came back with clothes, but I didn't move.

_"_ _PAB_ _-24 put these clothes on."_ Stern-One ordered. And so I put on the clothes.

It was a rough black vest, a heavy flowing black skirt that ended just above my knees, knee-high black boots, leg wrappings to wear so my stems ***** didn't blister, and leather arm guards that stopped at my elbows. **(1930-40s slang: Stems= Legs)**

After putting the arm guards on, I could see that they each had a lone red star on the back of the wrists. Upon on closer inspection, there was another lone red star on the right breast of the vest. That must be their symbol.

**(Her uniform <<<)**

_"_ _PAB_ _-24."_ I straightened and turned to Stern-One.

_"Follow me."_ And he turned and walked off, me immediately following him.

He led me down many halls into a room with multiple different guns, blades, sticks and mannequins that had targets painted onto them. He picked up one of the guns and handed it to me.

_"Practice setting up, loading, and shooting this gun until you can perform with it flawlessly. When you have accomplished this, repeat with the rest of the weapons in this room. You will receive food when you have finished with all of the guns. Understand."_ I gave him a nod and he walked off.

I looked at the entire wall filled with guns and then got to work fulfilling my orders. Because I told him I was Ready to comply. Didn't I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who would say that her uniform doesn't make sense in terms of fighting, remember that men back then were still primarily sexist. Also fighting in a skirt like this just helps her to be able to fight in uncomfortable clothing. If you do look into history, you will notice that women were absolute troopers when it came to wearing uncomfortable clothing, such as women with the classic Edwardian silhouette with a very impossibly proportioned body. This was actually what they looked like, but through the use of bodices, stays, corsets, and other under layers to achieve such a shape for their silhouette. They were shaped just like we are today, but they gave the illusion that that is not the case.
> 
> You will find that if you wear a corset where you can't bend your back with it on, that the human body is able to move in many different ways and you will be able to find a different way to preform a task. So, if a woman needed to bend down to pick something up off of the floor, they could bend at the waist or knees instead to make up for not being able to bend their back. So fighting with a skirt like this is entirely possible. And yes, I did bring silhouette and women's clothing history into this. Fight me.


	7. No Witnesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future."- Fulton Oursler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ THERE ARE THINGS IN THIS CHAPTER WHICH MIGHT BE DISTURBING OR TRIGGERING SUCH AS MURDER!! IF YOU PROCEED PLEASE DO SO WITH CAUTION!!⚠ ⚠ ⚠
> 
> A/N:( I have changed the times of some things to make other things that will happen in the future available so instead of Tony Stark having been born on May 29, 1970, his birthdate has been changed to May 29, 1984. He is 3 when his parents die, not 17.)

**_"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future."- Fulton_ ** **_Oursler_ **

_(10 weeks later)_

I was kept in training. A month after I had started, they switched out the training dummies for real people. People who had gotten on their list, or people connected to those on that list. There was one target that I had, I can remember what I did.

**⚠ ⚠ ⚠ A disturbing/triggering part is past this point!! If you wish to skip it, go on ahead to the** **END ⚠** **that signals the end of it!!⚠ ⚠ ⚠**

_I was taken back to the training room. I had long since mastered the guns, and we were doing physical training now. How to kill a person with nothing but your hands._

_Standing in the center of the room was a person with a bag over their head. I thought nothing of their small height, I had killed someone that small once before._

"PAB-24. Use your training. The back if you can." _I nodded at the command and quickly went to the figure._

_I swept low, kicking out their knees, causing them to scream as they fell forward. It was high pitched, this target was clearly young. Still, I continued. As they hit the floor I grabbed their leg and applied as much pressure as I could while lifting them and taking a hold of their shoulder. I lifted them up as high as I could._

_And slammed their back down onto my leg. Their scream was loud and full of pain, as I could hear clearly what I had done. There was a loud snap directly after, I had broken their back. The body fell limp to the floor but the whimpers and sobs coming from them told me they were still alive._ _I crouched next to them and grabbed hold of their neck. Pulling them up, I wrapped my arms around it, and jerked harshly. The sobs cut of with a sickening kibosh_ **_*_ ** _. And the bag fell off their head._ **(1930-40s slang: Kibosh= Squelch)**

_In the place that I had put the person, I saw a little girl, no older that 9. I had just killed a child. But those were my orders. Regret flashed across my face, before it was quickly replaced by nothing. Emotion is weakness. There is no room for weakness here. All weaknesses must be eliminated without exception. But... I had just murdered a little girl._

** END ⚠ **

She wasn't the first kill I did and she definitely wasn't the last. She was the only child I had killed though. But she's the only one I really remember, even if it is through a thick fog. Is it a bad thing that her face is disappearing from my memory?

_"_ _PAB_ _-24. Follow me."_ Stern-One ordered. I did so without hesitation. I was led to a room with a chair in the center, there was a headset attached to it.

_"Sit."_ Stern-One gestured to the chair. My instincts told me not to sit in that chair. I did it anyway. I had done this three times before, and I always felt the need to stay out of the chair, it caused me a lot of pain. Pain is a part of life that can never be escaped, you must learn to tolerate it instead of attempting to hide from it, or it will be your downfall. At least, that's what Stern-One had told me. Four men came into the room and immediately started to hook me up to the chair, the head set lowering over my head.

My arms were restrained and a thing was put into my mouth to keep me from biting my tongue off due to the pain the chair causes. Then, without warning, the chair was turned on and my mind felt like it was being scrambled. And everything was slipping away.

I... I killed... Who was it? I... I am empty.

_"She has done well. Put her on ice for now."_

_._

_(41 years later)_

I had been sent on lots of missions. The only real thing I could remember about them is that in almost all of them I had been sent to kill someone. There was another assassin with the group, The Winter Soldier. He mostly goes out on solo missions, leading me to go on mostly solo missions as well, though he has gone on more missions than I have. This one was one of those rare missions that we had together.

We were waiting for a flivver to pass by. It will contain something that we are to retrieve. No witnesses, all people present to this retrieval mission are to be killed without hesitation. The road we were on was silent. It was nearing 11 PM when a car finally made its way down to us.

I looked to Winter Soldier and he nodded. Our target. We could hear the car, but since it was silent out, more so than normal, it was actually far off. When I could hear that it was close, I made my way to the middle of the street. By the time the driver saw me, it was almost too late.

They swerved to the side to try to avoid hitting me, but the flivver went straight into a tree. I went over to the driver's side when I heard someone exit the fliv - No. Car. They were injured, I could see they were dragging themselves.

"Howard! Howard!" I heard a doll's voice yell from the passengers side.

**⚠ ⚠ ⚠ There is death/murder past this point!! ⚠ ⚠ ⚠**

I found a man, around 60 on the ground. I took out a gun from the holster on the small of my back, put it off safety and cocked it. _BANG!!_ The man slumped over and was still, the sound echoing slightly in the air. I turned my head and found Winter Soldier with his own gun out, smoking slightly and aimed at where the man's head had been. I hadn't fired that shot.

"HOWARD!" The woman yelled in alarm, and fear.

Winter Soldier pointed at the trunk and I got the message clearly. 'You get the objective.' I nodded and went to the trunk while Winter Soldier went over to the passenger side door to get rid of the witness. I took the objective and looked to Winter Soldier as I heard a distinct snap. He came over and passed me. He raised his gun and fired at a camera on a poll nearby.

**END ⚠**

And we both got on our bikes and rode away to the pick up point, me with the objective, and Winter Soldier with the blood of one Howard and Maria Stark on his hands, both metal and flesh. I looked at my leather arm guards for only a second and it felt as though those red stars were laughing tauntingly at me. Red. A fitting color for a murderer.


	8. Definitely Not Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The most beautiful people I've known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths."- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠ ⚠ ⚠!!THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING OR TRIGGERING TO VIEWERS SUCH AS BLOOD, MURDER, SELF-HARM, SUICIDE AND DEATH!! IF THINGS LIKE THIS BOTHER YOU AND YOU PROCEED, PLEASE DO SO WITH CAUTION!!⚠ ⚠ ⚠

_**"The most beautiful people I've known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths."- Elizabeth** _ _**Kubler** _ _**-Ross** _

_(4 months later) Percy's POV_

"Страстное желание."

"Проржавевший."

"Печь."

"Рассвет."

"Семнадцать."

"Доброкачественный."

"Девять."

"Возвращение домой."

"Один."

"Грузовой автомобиль."

I woke up once again. There were around 100 girls in front of me, all between the ages of 3 to 14.

"Готовы соблюдать." I said. Always ready to comply.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a young girl flinch back. She immediately tried to hide it, but the man who had said my words saw.

_"_ _PAB_ _-24, Show them why they should never show fear to others."_ Word-Man ordered. I nodded and shot toward the girl. She looked to be 11, and I could see the fear in her eyes.

**⚠ ⚠ ⚠**

I grabbed her and moved her so that she was doing a sort of back bend in my arms, her head visible to me. I quickly bent down and very discretely whispered, _"I'm sorry."_ And snapped her neck. It all happened in a matter of around 6 seconds but none of the girls moved when it happened.

**End ⚠**

I straightened, and turned to the Word-Man. He, unlike some of the girls, looked indifferent to what had just happened.

He addressed the girls, _"That is what happens when you show fear. You end up dead."_ He paused and looked out in a certain direction of the gathered girls. _"Because one of you unfortunately attempted to leave our caring facility, we'll be doing something different today. All of you, follow me."_

Understanding that I was part of the 'all of you', I followed as well, keeping my walk as that of an experienced soldier. I was one after all. I think...

All of us, myself, the Word-Man, and the 100 girls(give or take) boarded a helicopter which was clearly designed to only fit roughly 50 people. It was very cramped. I faintly felt that I shouldn't be in the air, but I ignored it for the most part.

The Word-Man looked over the girls and a cruel smile spread across his lips.

_"Don't worry about the space, there will be a lot more of it on the way back."_ His words hung in the air and settled thickly around all of the girls. We all knew what it meant. I knew that I would be on the return ride, but the others seemed to be thinking over the words with dread.

The helicopter flew farther and farther and I saw some girls trying to suppress shivers. It must have been cold. When we finally landed, I saw that we were at the base of a mountain.

All of us got out and the girls formed into a crowd, huddled together to share warmth. The Word-Man brought me to be next to him.

_"You must be wondering why we are here, yes? That is simple. You girls must make it to the other side of the mountain. The first 50 to make it to our camp will be taken back to the facility._ _PAB_ _-24 will be going as well, but you all have a 2 hour head start. If_ _PAB_ _-24 catches you, you will be killed. If she does not, that will have meant that you are among the 50 going back."_

His words fell down on them all with the force of a nuke. The girls looked around and some of them eyed the girls that they thought to be the weakest. The ones that wouldn't make it back.

_"Your time for getting there starts... Now."_

Some of the girls turned and sprinted off to the mountain, trying their hardest not to be in the group that I kill. Stupid. Other girls just stood there in shock. Stupid. Only a few of them walked toward the mountain, most likely to conserve energy on the way up. Smart.

One of the walkers in particular caught my eye. It was a brunette. One of the only ones in the group. All the other girls had red hair. But not this one. She looked to be no older than 3 or 4, the youngest in the whole group, and from the way she walked, I could tell that there was something on her mind. She's definitely smart for her young age.

_If she survives, I'll keep an eye on her._ I quickly decided. _I really do hope she survives..._

And then I felt the wind of the helicopter lifting up. It flew and left to what I would assume to be the camp at the other side of the mountain. And my inner timer began.

Two hours later, all the girls had already headed to the mountain, and it was begining to get dark. It didn't matter. I walked toward the mountain searching for any stragglers.

**⚠**

When I was almost at the top of the mountain, I found a sight that didn't really surprise me. At least 60 dead girls. Some had died from the cold, some from injuries they had gotten on the way up, and some from a mixture of the two. But I knew my orders.

I went around to every girl and felt for a pulse. A few of them still had one, and those girls were the ones that I plugged ***** through the head, each bullet making a popping sound. **(1930-40s slang: Plugged= Shoot a gun(usually at someone))**

Pop and out goes another light. But with consistency, every girl I found alive, I would apologise to before killing, even if I know it will never be forgivable to end the life of a person, let alone a child.

Then something happened. A girl hidden in the bodies that I was checking at the moment popped up with a rock held tightly in hand and swung it as hard as she could at my face. I didn't react fast enough, having been caught by surprise.

The rock connected with my nose and I was stunned for a bit. I could feel blood start to flow from my nose. When I caught my bearings, she was gone. Snazzy *****. I didn't want more innocent blood on my hands than I had too. **(1930-40s slang: Snazzy= Very good)**

I looked down though, and saw that my heater ***** had gotten knocked out of my hand and was a few bodies away. A hand twitched to the hea- _g_ _un_ , it belonged to a girl around 13 years old. I didn't react other than moving onto the next body to check if she was still alive. **(1930-40s slang: Heater= Gun)**

But a pop went off, and I looked back to the girl to find that she had taken the out presented to her. She could have been killed by me, or ran if she still had the strength, but instead she had taken my gun just so she could end it all quicker.

I went over to that girl and took the gun back, but when I checked the clip, it was empty. I only had 3 clips and that was the last one. I didn't expect so many of the girls I found to still be alive.

I had other matters to worry about though. The girl I checked back there was alive still. Only doing as ordered, I went back to her, picked her up, took a knife out of a sheath in my boot, and plunged it into her heart. She squeaked once, twitched twice, and went still. Blood started to slowly leak out of the wound and soak into the snow around us.

My orders were to kill any survivors immediately, if the heater hadn't been empty, I would have used it. It was quicker than stabbing them.

After 8 more survivors were down, I was done with the girls up here, and continued on to the top, knife in hand and covered in the blood of children. There had been 72 girls there, 59 that I had to kill, many of them under the age of 10. Only 13 of them were actually dead.

A small tear slipped out of my eye, but I quickly wiped it away and continued on. I only found 4 girls on my way down, and one of them was already dead, the jaws of death had already claimed her by use of hypothermia. The others I really didn't want to kill. The brunette girl from earlier was with them.

**End ⚠**

_"You!"_ They all startled awake and turned toward the sound of my voice. The brunettes pies ***** quickly dilated with fear, but other than that, she showed no signs of being afraid. They other girls seemed almost ready to accept their fate, and they were very similar. _Sisters._ My mind decided. **(1930-40s slang: Pies= Eyes)**

My face softened and I felt weird, like this is how I'm supposed to have reacted when finding a little girl on the side of a snowy mountain. It was a small tug in the back of my head. But I knew I had orders!

I took a breath and made up my mind. _"_ _Go. I do not_ want _to kill you, but I will. You have 5 minutes to get away."_ I said sternly, but hoping they would understand.

I felt broken and lost because they reminded me of something. A memory I think, but it didn't look like it was truly mine. I could see a blonde boy with blue pies, a boy that looked suspiciously like a younger version of Winter Soldier, and in a mirror in the corner, I could see what looked like a younger version of me with them huddled near an old fashioned stove. They were cold and shivering, no words were said. But the only difference between this and now was that the blonde boy, Little-Winter and Little-Not-Me were happily smiling as they shared each others warmth in what must have been a cold winter night. These girls weren't.

The brunette had a slightly relieved look on her face as she nodded, and got up and started dragging the other two older girls behind her in a jog down the slopes of the mountain. But I could tell from her look as she left, that she saw just how broken and lost I felt. I swear, little children are perfect at detecting if something is bullhonky ***** or not. **(Running family substitute for cuss words:** **Bullhonky** **=** **Bullsh** **!t)**

I snapped out of my Not-Memory and waited in the cold for a few minutes before continuing my hike down the mountain. When I made it to the bottom without encountering any more girls, I smiled inwardly. That means the brunette and the other two made it. It was now nearing roughly 2 AM by the height of the moon chariot when I made it to a little glow at the base of the mountain.

There were 27 girls around a fire, including the brunette and other two, and each girl shared a blanket with two others. They had food and semi hot drinks. Pretty good for girls who had just gotten done climbing and descending a mountain in a little under 9 hours.

_"Ah! I see that you've joined us_ _PAB_ _-24. So there are no other girls coming then?"_ The Word-Man asked.

I just shook my head and showed him the knife as way of proving it. The blood had dried, but it still coated almost the entire blade.

_"Good. And it seems you have come in contact with one of them as well."_ He gestured to his nose and I understood that he was referring to my bloody one. Like the blade, this blood had dried, but I hadn't felt the need to wipe it away before that had happened.

I just nodded and he smirked.

_"We will set out to the facility at dawn. All of you get as much rest as you can before then. We go to training immediately when we get back."_ Word-Man addressed the remaining girls.

Those that weren't eating went into light doses, and those that were enjoyed the food. Word-Man went back to the helicopter and didn't come back out. I just stood there in a ready position for should something go wrong.

But my Not-Memories started to try and flood my mind. Only in flashes though. I got a few words here and there, but none were any that I could understand. The blonde boy and Little-Winter showed up in those memories a lot. They were dressed really old fashioned, matching up with what I could see them wearing in the Cold Stove memory.

It cemented an idea that maybe these memories were of a different time.

But there was also flashes of a blonde girl, a tanned brunette girl, an African-American girl with cinnamon hair, an Asian boy, a white boy who was blonde but definitely not the other blonde boy, and a latino boy. They didn't look nearly as old fashioned as the other memories but something about the memory told me it was around the same time.

Confuse!!

I forced myself out of the memories and went back to standing guard. I could see that it was getting lighter though. Dawn was almost here. We would leave soon.

And so I waited until I saw the sun start to appear, before going around and nudging the girls awake. By the time that was done and they were all up, the helicopter door opened and Word-Man came out opening the door wider.

_"Collect all of the blankets, cups and plates. Then get on the helicopter. Any who aren't on it in 15 minutes will be left behind."_ And he went back into the helicopter.

15 minutes later, all 27 girls were on the helicopter along with the blankets and dishes. I got on last and shut the door right as we lifted up into the air. True to Word-Man's words earlier, the helicopter had much more room than the trip going to the mountain.

The ride back would be a rather long one, so with my knife in hand, I fell into a light dose, thoughts flooding my mind. Things would definitely not get better or safer for these girls, I knew that much.


	9. Knives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone."- Robin Williams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠ ⚠ ⚠!!THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING OR TRIGGERING TO VIEWERS SUCH AS BLOOD, MURDER, AND DEATH!! IF YOU PROCEED, PLEASE DO SO WITH CAUTION!!⚠ ⚠ ⚠

_**"I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone."- Robin Williams** _

_Percy's POV_

Going back to the facility was kind of a surprise because we were led to a hall instead of a training room. Word-Man just continued on down the hall and stopped at a certain point in the wall.

He pressed a button and a large panel of the wall started to lift. When it was all the way up, it revealed a man, sitting in a chair. The area he was in looked freezing, and he was barely breathing. He had a metal arm, and I could see the red star on his shoulder. It was Winter Soldier.

"Страстное желание."

It felt like something was tickling my brain.

"Проржавевший."

What is tickling me!?

"Печь."

Now this is uncomfortable. Is this normal?

"Рассвет."

Now it's starting to hurt.

"Семнадцать."

I brought one of my hands up to my head, and a few heads turned my way. The brunette was one of them and I saw concern hidden in her eyes.

"Доброкачественный."

My eyebrows scrunched up as I put pressure on my head trying to relieve the pain.

"Девять."

The pain increased and I brought my other hand up.

"Возвращение домой."

Why won't the pain go away? I locked my jaw and applied more pressure.

"Один."

I'm almost positive I whimpered as the pain became unbearable. That turned a few more heads. I think a few tears escaped.

"Грузовой автомобиль."

Nothingness. There is no more pain. Was there any to begin with? I straightened out and turned to fully face Word-Man. I saw Winter stand and face him as well.

"Готовы соблюдать." Winter and I said at the same time.

_"This is the Winter Soldier. He and_ _PAB_ _-24 will be training you girls. Follow me."_ We all followed him down the hall and turned into a side room. It was filled with weapons, all kinds of guns, lots of different blades, and training dummies. There was an area cut off from the rest of the room that was clearly a target practice area, and there were several mats on the opposite side of the room for physical fighting.

Word-Man went to the fighting mats and then stopped in front of the biggest one. Turning back to the group, he paused, took a breath, then said, _"Winter Soldier._ _PAB_ _-24. To the center of the ring."_

Both of us nodded and stepped up, turning to face one another.

_"Try to incapacitate the other, not kill. Show these girls what they could accomplish if they complete the training."_

Neither of us hesitated. We both shot forward and begun our fight. Since we both knew we weren't aiming to kill the other, we didn't try to get it over with.

Winter went for a strong punch to my ribs, but I took that arm and pushed it behind me, using the momentum of his swing to knock him off balance. I kicked one of his legs and climbed onto his back as he regained some of his balance, swinging my full body weight around his waist. He just hooked his arm around my torso and tore me away from him, throwing me to the edge of the ring.

I used that to roll and continued my path, landing on my hand and swinging my body back to him. As he went for an axe kick to my face, I shoved his leg away, twisted in the air and did a double kick to his back. He used my kick and rolled forward and with his metal arm, sprung high into the air and performed and excellent scissor kick to my waist, that ended with me landing hard on my back. He went towards me and punched down with his metal arm where my head had been a moment before. The mat we were on split and his fist became impressioned into the floor beneath with a loud _crack._

I locked my legs around that arm, and pushed one leg in a sideways stomp to the part of his body that the metal arm was anchored to. I could see the pain it caused him through his eyes, and I felt bad for doing it, but I continued. I slipped my body farther up his own and wrapped my legs tightly around his neck, and threw my body in a circle.

I ended up behind his head in a sort of piggy back ride, but the swinging motion had him teattering backwards slightly. I used that and keeping my legs locked around his neck did a backbend, changing my center of gravity to my chest. He fell backwards in an involuntary backbend, and I planted my hands firmly on the ground before continuing his path, successfully doing an upside-down crunch.

I was able to continue his path even further and slammed his head into the ground using the force of my thighs. I scrambled out from under him, and got into a fighting position. But it wasn't needed. The force at which I slammed his head into the ground was enough to knock him out. I didn't straighten out of my fighting position though.

_"Stand straight_ _PAB_ _-24."_ I did. I stood up and faced the girls looking on and kept my face neutral. The slight bit of adrenaline I had gotten from that fight was wearing off and I could feel everywhere I had been hit, and my back was beginning to ache from landing on the floor.

_"Choose what to start training the girls with_ _PAB_ _-24. If something happens, you know what to do."_ I was a bit shocked by this and I'm sure it shown clearly on my face. Word-Man didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care. He just left the room, and so I was left with the 27 little girls to train.

I surveyed the room, I had never gotten a choice before. I decided that if I was going to train them, I would train them with weapons that I know my way with the best.

_"Follow me,"_ I said in a monotone voice. I went over to the blades. When I looked back, the girls hadn't left their spots. They were just staring my way.

Orders... I quickly took a knife from the selection and threw it at them, careful to only graze the cheek of one of the girls. The girl that ended up with a cut on her cheek was the younger of the two girls that had been with the brunette.

_"When I tell you to do something, you do it. Next time you girls don't comply, I'll make sure that it isn't a bloody cheek that one of you gets."_ I said, my voice conveying annoyance, but my eyes pleading with them, trying to make them dig ***** that I don't want to do this. The only one that I saw could see this though was the brunette. **(1930-40s slang: Dig= Think hard OR Understand)**

The girls quickly went over to where I was. Since I threw the knife, I think we'll start with that. I picked up 8 and told the girls to get three of their own before going over to the target practice ranges. Directing them on how to throw the knives, I performed my own throws, one after the other until I didn't have any more knives. Each of the ones I had thrown hit the center of their targets, the head, the chest, each shoulder, the knees, and where the legs connect to the body. I went and retrieved my knives and told them to start practicing.

They started to throw their own knives, and I was proud of the brunette, because she quickly learned and was the first to get her knife to stick. She's young, she'll learn faster and soak up everything said and done here. Even being the youngest, I'm confident that she will survive this place. After an hour or two, I stopped them. Once they had turned to face me, I spoke.

_"Pair up."_ They did. _"Show your new skills. Throw your knife at your partner and aim to kill."_

Almost a minute went by, and they didn't do anything. So I surged forward, the girls all tried to get away, but I managed to grab one. But it was the brunette. I picked her up, and held my knife to her throat. In a steely voice, I said, _"One of you do as ordered and her blood will not be spilled on the floor."_

**⚠ ⚠ ⚠**

When this happened, the oldest of the sisters from the mountain didn't hesitate. She took her knife, aimed, and threw it with as much force as she could right into her partners chest. It plunged in up to the hilt. I nodded with satisfaction and let the brunette go, and she immediately ran toward the girl who had been her partner, and threw her knife. Instead of it going into the girls chest, it went into her head.

Like a bell had gone off, the girls started killing each other. When they had finished, there were 13 bodies on the floor, and quite a few of the girls were bleeding from the knife wounds their target had been able to inflict. But I was proud, nearly all of the dead girls had a knife or two either in her head or her chest, though not always on center.

I was a bit sad to see that the younger sister was among the fallen 13.

The door opened and Word-Man came back in. He smiled slightly when he saw what had been done, and how many girls had gotten removed from the fray.

_"Girls, come. We will resume training tomorrow._ _PAB_ _-24, you will stay here with the Winter Soldier."_ I nodded and watched as the girls left with him, the brunette looking back before exiting. The door was shut, and I heard the sound of a lock click.

I went over to the bodies of the girls and collected the knives, cleaned them, and put them away. Then I went over to what looked like a medical station and brought some supplies from it over to them, cleaning the stab wounds and patching them up so they wouldn't bleed anymore. I moved them over to a corner of the room, and went back to clean up the blood halos as best I could.

** END ⚠ **

When that was done, I went back over to the girls and closed the eyes of those that still had them open, and folded their arms delicately over their chests. With each girl I finished with, I apologised, and I know I started to cry a little at the bright futures they might have had that were taken from them by this group. I looked down at the blood on my hands and knew that it fit there.

All of these deaths, each and every one of them, was all my fault. It's my fault that these girls are dead. How could it not be? I may not have thrown the knives that killed them, but it's all on me. They deserved so much better than this.

My hands were shaking and I was repressing sobs. I heard a groan from where I had left Winter on the floor, and looked over to him. Tears were still streaking down my face but at the moment I didn't care.

I remembered something. At least I think I did. It was of the Little-Winter, only he looked like Winter with shorter hair. He was in a uniform, with a cap, and he was in an alley with the blonde boy. I could tell that the blonde boy had just gotten beaten up, the smudge of blood on his lip showed me that much. In a window, once again, I saw a person that looked a lot like me with shorter hair with them. She too, was in a uniform like Bigger-Little-Winter, but the patch on her arms was different. She had a paper in her hands, and it looked like it was something for joining an army, but it was a denied form.

_'Steve and Bucky'_ my mind told me. My mind told me that Bucky was with me. That Winter _was_ Bucky.

Suddenly hands were wiping away my tears. One hand was cold and hard, but the other was warm and soft. Soft words were spoken to me, but I could tell that they weren't Russian. They were words spoken in English, and they seemed to calm me down a lot more.

"I'm right here Percy. You don't have to cry. I know you, it wasn't your fault so don't blame yourself," A soft, low, rumbly voice spoke. It wasn't the gruff, harsh voice of Winter, but it was so familiar to me. Soothing.

The Not-So-Winter got me up, and led me to the medical stuff across the room. We just settled down, Not-So-Winter taking my hands and scrubbing away the blood. Even after the blood was gone he held my hands.

"Thank you." I said to him, though I'm not sure I was able to convey how appreciative I was. 

"You don't need to thank me for that." He waved a hand, as if he could swat aside my thanks.

"I'm not thanking you for this, though I am appreciative," I told him. "Thank you for always being there for me."

"Your my sister. My _baby_ sister. I will always try my best to be there for you, got that?" He answered, moving so he could clean up the rest of my bruises and bloody nose.

I nodded.

I had started cleaning up his bruises when I decided to bring something up. "I'm not your baby sister."

He looked at me. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"How so?"

"We're twins, neither of us can be the baby sibling."

He started shaking his head. "Um, I beg to differ, I'm 12 minutes older than you."

"So?! That's 12 short minutes!" I told him incredulously.

"It still gives me full rights to call you the baby sister." He said, the Barnes' signature lopsided-trouble-makers-smile on his face. He turned so that him and I were sitting shoulder to shoulder, our backs placed against the wall.

I smiled as well, but then the weight of having stayed up two days, one spent climbing a mountain, caught up with me. My head dipped to Bucky's shoulder, and I drifted off into Hypnos' realm. I drifted off knowing that no matter how I sliced it, I'm going to the Fields of Punishment. I'm the reason that so many people are dead after all. Murderers don't belong in Elysium. And that is exactly what I am. A murderer.


	10. DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on."- Theodore Roosevelt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠⚠⚠!!THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THINGS THAT MAY BE DISTURBING OR TRIGGERING TO VIEWERS SUCH AS BLOOD, MURDER, AND DEATH!! IF YOU PROCEED, PLEASE DO SO WITH CAUTION!!⚠⚠⚠

**_"When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on."- Theodore Roosevelt_ **

_(2 years later) Percy's POV_

After the talk Winter and I had that night, Word-Man took us to the machine again. It scrambled my brain, and a lot of what was discovered was lost again. But I made sure to hold onto the fact that Winter was my brother more tightly than I had ever held onto anything before. That's the only real thing I can remember from that night.

The program only had 7 girls left, and they weren't having any of them dying anymore. There was only girls around 12 left, but there was one 5 year old. She was brunette and stood out from the rest because of it. Winter and I were moved into the dormitory when the girls weren't being killed anymore. I had actually grown pretty close to the brunette girl, and Winter took to her as well.

Her name was Natalia, and she was a strong one. She had to be. She was the only one left in the program under the age of 10. We had taught the remaining girls a number of things. Some things like how to assemble guns flawlessly and quickly, how to use blades efficiently, how to take a person down with no weapons, and Natalia took quickly to each and every new thing learned.

While I was a bit proud, I was even more ashamed that I even felt proud. She she was surviving, but no 5 year old should have to survive like this. They should have parents to rely on, pallys ***** to play with, and the only thing they should be worrying about is making a decent project in school or if they could get a pet. Not living to see the next day. **(1930-40s slang: Pally= Friend)**

It was late. My internal timer said around 2 AM. And I hadn't managed to fall asleep yet. I sat up, and I could sense that Winter woke from his light sleep from my movement.

_"What?"_ He asked me in his monotone gruff voice. That's not right, my mind said but I ignored it.

I stood up and walked over to the door. I put my hand on the nob, and turned it very carefully. It opened! I closed it and went over to Natalia, shaking her awake. It was relatively easy, she never really was a heavy sleeper but she wasn't a light one either.

_"What are you doing?"_ Winter asked me lowly, but his tone suggested curiosity, not anger.

I motioned for Natalia to get on my back and she did, still half asleep. She locked her arms around my neck, but made sure not to choke me. I went to the door and opened it again. I turned my head to Winter and he got the message clearly enough. He got up and together, the three of us silently made our way through the halls, Winter checking for people before we turned corners.

We made it out the door and past the guards. And all of a sudden we were in the forest. This is where Winter and I started sprinting away. It was slightly cold, but that didn't matter. The three of us continued on for an hour and then slowed, finding a place to rest. I put Natalia down and saw her curiosity.

_"Why'd we leave?"_

I knelt in front of her and put my hands lightly on her shoulders. _"Because you deserve a regular childhood, not a facility that turns people into cold-blooded murderers."_

_"What about the other girls? What will happen to them?"_

I paused because I knew only part of the answer. Some would die. Others would be made into the perfect assassins. Winter answered the first question for me. _"We couldn't take all of you. If we could only make it out with one, I would be glad that it was you. With only you, we have less of a chance of being caught."_ He purposely didn't answer the second question.

_"That makes sense. So what are we going to do now?"_

Winter turned to me, with the same question in his eyes.

_"In some of my missions, I had to take on a different identity. I could make different ones for all of us, turn them into real people so they will be protected by the law, and they would never be associated with us. We could go to an apple_ **_*_ ** _, blend in, and leave the country. Once we get past the country's border, we'd have less of a chance for being tracked down, but we would have to move around quite a bit to keep them off our trail if we do. Change identities once or twice and we could lose them in the crowds of an apple."_ **(1930-40s slang: Apple= Any big town or city)**

Winter nodded before speaking. _"We'll start moving again when the sun comes up. Be prepared to run a lot_ _PAB_ _-24."_ I nodded and settled down curling closely around Natalia, trying my best to shield her from the cold. Winter came and settled down on the other side, also trying to shield Natalia from the cold.

We dosed on like this, aware that we need to find our way to an apple in a few hours, so that we can disappear.

.

It had only been an hour when things went even more south. I woke up to the sound of quickly approaching feet, and I could hear dogs barking. By the time I woke Winter and Natalia up, they were already on us, twelve dogs, and 40 men with guns.

I did what I did best. I fought mercilessly, going in for the kill, and I could see Winter out of the corner of my eye doing the same. Even Natalia was fighting some of them off, using her training flawlessly on the men.

But then I heard a screech. I looked to it and saw a man holding Natalia with a heater pointed to her head and three men with him, also pointing heaters to her.

**⚠** **⚠** **⚠**

**"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!!"** I screamed at the man. The man took his heater, raised it high and slammed it into her head. She slumped, unconscious in his arms. I saw red. There was a sharp tug in my gut and the men who had surrounded Natalia and pointed their heaters at her were suddenly on the floor with spikes of frozen blood through their heads. Dead. Every single one of them.

**END** **⚠**

I felt like I had just run a small marathon, and wanted very badly to throw up, though I don't know why. I had been around dead people so much that the urge to rid my stomach of its contents no longer bothered me. Suddenly I was hit from the side by three forces. My head hit a rock near me, and my world disappeared, with me hearing the faint cry of "Percy!" in Englishfrom Winter.


	11. No Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nobody is stronger, nobody is weaker than someone who came back. There is nothing you can do to such a person because whatever you could do is less than what has already been done to him. We have already paid the price."- Elie Wiesel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself.

_**"Nobody is stronger, nobody is weaker than someone who came back. There is nothing you can do to such a person because whatever you could do is less than what has already been done to him. We have already paid the price."- Elie Wiesel** _

  
_(17 years later) Percy's POV_

"Страстное желание."

A long pause.

"Проржавевший."

Another pause.

"Печь."

Pause.

"Рассвет."

...

"Семнадцать."

...

"Доброкачественный."

...

"Девять."

...

"Возвращение домой."

...

"Один."

...

"Грузовой автомобиль."

They finished and I woke up. It was a cave and the men in front of me didn't look at all like they were my regular handlers. But they said my words.

"Готовы соблюдать." I said. The man to the right of me looked down at a book he was holding. It had a red star on it. He seemed to be reading and then he looked up and smiled when he finished.

He turned to two men that had their hands on their head. One had a few cables sticking out of his chest that led to what looked like a fli- _c_ _a_ _r_ battery. The other one had glasses. Both were dressed in poor clothing. Car-Battery-Guy reminded me of someone, though I can't remember who.

Red-Star-Book-Man spoke complete gibberish to the two but Four-Eyes seemed to dig *****. He translated for Car-Battery-Guy. **(1930-40s slang: Dig= Think hard OR Understand)**

"She is here to keep us in check." He paused to listen to more of the gibberish. "He says that he went through a lot of trouble to get her here. Her handlers were very reluctant to let him borrow her."

Red-Star-Book-Man kept speaking still. "It was only because of who you are that they agreed to let her be here. She is going to ensure that we do not do anything that could be bad for them." Red-Star-Book-Man spoke one more very long sentence before leaving with the other men with guns.

"He said that it was rumored that when she and another living drone were training girls to be perfect assassins in a place called the Red Room, that she was able to overpower him easily without any weapons, even though that living drone has a superior metal arm and more training so it would be a fatal mistake to underestimate her."

I was very curious. What is the Red Room? I don't recall training girls, and I definitely don't remember fighting Winter.

"Living drone?"

Four-Eyes looked at me cautiously. "A living drone is a person who has been experimented on, enhanced to be superior to us, chipped to keep them compliant, brainwashed to ensure they don't defect, and trained to flawlessly complete missions. They never fail, and always follow the orders they are given by the person who has said their key words. I would be cautious of her, if she is truly a living drone, then she is also the perfect murderer and if she has been given orders to keep us in check, then she will use any force necessary to do so."

"Wait, so she _willingly_ became a puppet?"

"It is hard to say. She could have gone willingly, but she could also have been kidnapped and forced to be what she is. Whatever the case, she is _very_ dangerous."

I tuned out what they were saying then. Because of the fact that I wasn't given orders, and because I wanted to, I decided to explore this cave. This turned both heads to me, but I've never been left without orders before and I wanted to know about where I was.

"What's she doing?" Car-Battery-Guy whispered to Four-Eyes.

"I don't know." He responded just as quiet.

I just went around the cave and explored everything, though Four-Eyes objected strongly to me touching a really pretty pot filled with orange liquidy stuff that was bubbling.

"Stop, stop! What are you doing?!" He said reaching for my hand to get it away from it. He didn't succeed. My hand almost fully submerged into the pretty liquid, a sizzle sounding when my skin met the liquid. It was pretty warm, but not enough to hurt me.

I took my hand out and it was covered in the stuff. I smiled at it, not caring that there was other people around. I did have my mask on after all. Four-Eyes was sputtering slightly.

I concentrated and the pretty orange stuff collected in the palm of my hand, and I released it back into the pot it had been in before. My hand was slightly red, but it didn't bother me. I just continued my exploration and heard Car-Battery-Guy say, "She's really supposed to be dangerous?" Very incredulously.

I ignored him and went back to looking around. I was finishing up when I found a little bottle with some shards of metal in it. I picked it up and examined it and saw a bit of dried blood on the shards.

I looked over to Four-Eyes and Car-Battery-Guy and found that they had given up on me and were dismantling the small missiles and taking little things out. I decided on just observing them rather than going up to them.

That is until Car-Battery-Guy started to make a mould. I went up to it and saw that it was a thin circle. Four-Eyes went up and had gotten some of the little things, they were pieces of metal, and was about to put it in the orange bubble liquid. I went up to him and tapped on his shoulder. He turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I just pointed to the metal and held out my hand.

"Why do you need it?" I just stared blankly at him, not bothering to answer. I just pointed to the metal, silently insisting that he should give me the metal. He sighed and handed it over.

I took it and walked in front of him to the orange liquid. Holding tight onto the metal, I formed my hands into a sort of bowl and submerged them into it, a distinct sizzle sound coming when my skin made contact with the liquid again. My arm guards caught fire and it slowly spread up, but I paid it no mind. I had to concentrate to keep the metal from slipping out of my hands.

When I was sure that the metal had melted, I concentrated even more to keep it from escaping my hands and slowly brought them out of the orange liquid. My arm guards were still on fire and my hands were getting redder and the heat of it all was starting to hurt, but I went over to the mould, and tilted my hands. The melted metal fell slowly and filled up the ring.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Car-Battery-Guy asked me, curiosity lacing his words. To be honest, I don't know. I just knew that I could.

_"I have no clue."_ I told him, but he just looked confused.

I took off my mask and then grabbed a nearby sharp object and brought it up to my hand. Car-Battery-Guy protested, but he couldn't stop me, my arm guards were still on fire. I cut my palm and let the blood pool and collect before I put the sharp object down.

I blew on the blood and after a few minutes, the red dissipated. In its place, was clear water. Car-Battery-Guy made a noise of surprise. There was no traces of the blood and the cut had disappeared. Like with the metal, I tilted my hand and slowly let it drop onto the metal. A very satisfying _hiss_ was heard when the water made contact with the metal.

When that was done, the metal had cooled some and was now a ring, though I could tell that the metal was still too hot to touch.

My arm guards had now burned so that they were completely ruined. When the fire got to the skin though, is hissed and fizzled out. I just sighed and ripped them off, throwing them to the floor.

There was no evidence of the fire now other than the slight redness of my arms. The scars on my arms were now completely visible and I could feel Car-Battery-Guy's eyes looking at them.

I looked back to him and once again I was reminded of someone that I didn't know. An inventor with a habit of making things that go boom. I took my hand and holding it in front of me, I tried to see what he would look like without the bottom half of his face.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

I ignored him. But it was because without the bottom half of his face he looked so familiar.

_"Who are you?"_ I asked back, but once again he looked really confused. I tried again, attempting to speak English. "Who are you?" It was surprising since there was no accent. He still seemed confused, like I should already know who he is.

"Tony Stark."

The memory clicked in my mind of an inventor for a camp. A certain man named Howard Stark.

"What about you, what's your name?"

I had to pause and think about it. I couldn't really be sure of what my name was. I decided to respond with the name I had always known. I think.

"PAB-24."

Tony scoffed at that, but then he saw the seriousness in my face.

"PAB-24, that's not a name."

"I cannot remember being called anything else." I told him truthfully. Tony frowned and so I decided to change the conversation.

"Is there anything you need help with?" I asked and Tony had a ghost of a smile on his face. But I could tell he wasn't about to forget.

Together, the three of us made a little glowy thing for Tony. It was supposed to keep him alive, the shrapnel I had found earlier belonged to him.

Weeks past and we got to know each other more. Yinsen has a family out there somewhere, and Tony is the leader of a multi-billion dollar company. I couldn't really offer up much of my life though. At least that's what I had first thought.

_"What about you_ _PAB_ _?_ _Do you have a family?" Tony asked me._

_"I think so. I can't really remember much about them, but I know that I have an older twin brother. And a best friend who is like a troublesome younger brother. I can't remember their names though. But I do remember that the best friend is a cement mixer." I responded after a moment._

_"Cement mixer? You named an inanimate object, assigned it a gender, and called it your best friend?" He asked incredulously._

_"What? No! Do you not know what 'Cement mixer' means?" I asked him surprised._

_"Did it mean something different where your from?"_

_"I'm from New York, and it means a bad dancer." I told him. How could he not know what cement mixer meant? Wait a second... I'm from New York?_

_"So, a New Yorker?_ _Have you always been part of a bad organisation or was that a recent thing?" Tony asked, not even bothering to not sound annoyed._

_I didn't even bother to keep the hurt off my face. "Maybe, I don't know. I can't remember ever not being with them."_

_"So you've been with them since you were a kid?"_

_I tilted my head at this. Was I ever a kid? I can only ever remember being as I am now, an adult. I know that everyone starts out as a kid, so I must have been one at some point._

_"I... Don't recall ever having been a child," this seemed to surprise Tony and_ _Yinsen_ _. "I've always been this way, as long as I can remember, I've always been an adult."_

_Tony seemed to be working out a giant equation and all was silent for a few minutes._

_"Hey_ _PAB_ _. What is the first thing you can remember?" He asked finally._

_I thought back to my earliest memories. The memories of my training. But those weren't it, they weren't the earliest thing I could remember. The earliest memories I had were of being trapped in my own body, a terrible headache, the sounds of explosions. A voice muttering. Being cold_ _. Of two voices saying that I would be the perfect candidate._

_"The earliest thing I can remember is being trapped in my body. I couldn't move or open my eyes. I had a terrible headache, and I was cold. I could hear the sound of explosions and I could hear a voice muttering something, but I can't remember what they were saying. We were going fast, in a car possibly. I remember being lifted up and taken to a chair. Being restrained, tied down._

_"I remember a voice asking someone if I was the only subject they were able to salvage. And a second voice saying that I was the only one light enough to carry. The first voice said to give me a physical before they could continue. I think I started to cry, because the first voice noted that I was conscious._ _The second voice said that they would fix it, but the other told them not to because I wouldn't be able to move even if I tried._

_"The first voice came closer and wiped away my tears. That person left, and I was stripped of my clothes, I'm certain they burned them. I remember being prepared like a sacrifice._

_"The other voice came back, and the two voices agreed that I was the perfect candidate. I was given blood and someone performed a surgery on me. I was put into a machine. And then nothing at all. My mind draws a blank on what happens after. That is my earliest memory."_

_Neither Tony or_ _Yinsen_ _looked at me with pity. I didn't expect them to, I was their enemy after all. But then Tony put his hand on my shoulder and smiled slightly. It wasn't much, not really. But it was enough. It was a sign of acceptance. And it was a kind of acceptance that I didn't even know I needed until I had gotten it. I smiled back, how could I not?_

It was one week after this was when my memories started coming back to me in waves. My childhood, my brother, my best friend, the bullies, the camp, the quests, the monsters, the worry my brother and best friend had for me; showing up a beat ***** , unraveled mess every year after Zoe and Bianca were killed by my actions, the war, the army, the fight in Azono, being made into PAB-24. I remembered the people I killed and the Red Room. The girl Bucky and I tried to get away from them. I didn't remember everything, but I remembered enough to piece things together. **(1930-40s slang: Beat= Broken)**

And I told it to Tony. I told him that I could remember small pieces of my life. I told him my stories, of being friends with an alleyway vigilante who always lost the fight. Of the fun times, the sad ones, everything I could remember of my life. I didn't tell him about the monsters, demigods and camp though. That's not for him, not yet.

I was able to tell him my real name. Percy. I couldn't remember my full one, but my nickname was enough for now.

I was telling him about the time when I had been accepted into the army when a slot in the door opened. Tony and Yinsen instantly stood up and put their hands on their heads. I also stood, but I didn't feel the need to put my hands on my head. The door opened and almost 20 men came in, two of them wheeling in something covered by a tarp.

One barked a command and they surged forward, all coming towards _me._ So I did what I did best. I fought them with no mercy, because these men were using me like a puppet. And if there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was being used as a puppet. But my fight was useless, they were all coming at me, it was like that night in the forest all over again!

I killed six of them, but that was when I became overpowered and three of them held back my arms while four had my legs. When the fight had started, I heard Tony protest loudly, but he was ignored. The man that had ordered them to restrain me took the tarp off of the object, and it was revealed to be the chair. I tried so hard to stay out of it, but it didn't work and they strapped my arms and legs down.

"Stop!" Tony tried again. The man turned to him. "She's helpful and strong, I'll nee-" but he was cut off.

The man spoke in his language and Yinsen translated. "She will still be here. This machine will ensure that she stays on task."

They lowered the head set and one of my eyes was covered. The other looked out on Tony, scared as I can remember what this chair does. They didn't even bother to put the mouth guard in. The men just went out of the room and I struggled against my restraints, trying desperately to get out of this chair.

And then it was turned on. And I screamed, the sounds only amplified by the walls of the cave. My mind was scrambled and I screamed because this pain was worse than even bullets tearing through your skin. And I shoved the memories that I had deep into my mind, the farthest corners that the machine hopefully couldn't reach.

Things faded away and my screams started to die. Faces, friends, places, the things I love, the things I never saw again, the things that I so desperately miss. These things left my mind, being replaced by a blank slate.

The machine had done its job. Now I wonder what might have happened. What it would have been like. If I had received my orders.


	12. The Weight of The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When someone cries so hard that it hurts their throat, it is out of frustration or knowing that no matter what you can do or attempt to do can change the situation. When you feel like you need to cry, when you want to just get it out, relieve some of the pressure inside - that is true pain. Because no matter how hard you try or how bad you want to, you can't. That pain just stays in place. Then, if you are lucky, one small tear may escape from those eyes that water constantly. That one tear, that tiny, salty, droplet of moisture is a means of escape. Although it's just a small tear, it is the heaviest thing in the world. And it doesn't do a damn thing to fix anything." - Chase Brooks

_**"When someone cries so hard that it hurts their throat, it is out of frustration or knowing that no matter what you can do or attempt to do can change the situation. When you feel like you need to cry, when you want to just get it out, relieve some of the pressure inside - that is true pain. Because no matter how hard you try or how bad you want to, you can't. That pain just stays in place. Then, if you are lucky, one small tear may escape from those eyes that water constantly. That one tear, that tiny, salty, droplet of moisture is a means of escape. Although it's just a small tear, it is the heaviest thing in the world. And it doesn't do a damn thing to fix anything." - Chase Brooks** _

_Tony's POV_

Percy's screams were absolutely _haunting._ I had heard her scream before, she had woken up several times from nightmares of her life, memories that had dug their way into the surface of her mind. But these screams? They held a lot more than just pain. They held resistance and fight and anger and sadness. They sounded tortured and the pain it caused could be clearly seen.

But even more haunting than her screams, was her eye. Only one was visible and I could practically see something being ripped from them, taken by force. Percy had gotten a look in her eye that told me that she was no longer _Percy._ She was now PAB-24 again. I could see that everything she had worked to remember about herself, all of the nights waking up from nightmares, all of the stories she had shared, all of it was _gone._

And suddenly, Percy not being able to remember her life made perfect sense to me. Why she couldn't remember her childhood, why she only knew herself to be PAB-24. Because they _took all of it away from her!_ Through her screams, I could see that she was crying, a few tears making their escape down her face. Gradually, the screams faded and the tears stopped. And I could see through Percy's eye that she was blank. Empty. A soldier ready to follow orders.

The man still in the room said the same series of words to her that had gotten her to wake up and she said the same response as last time. Only, Percy had started teaching me a few Russian basics, and I could recognise some of the words said. _Longing, seventeen, nine, homecoming, one._ Those were the words the man said that I recognised. I understood what Percy said completely though. _Ready to comply._ Three simple words that had so much meaning. Whatever they did to Percy, it took all of _her_ away from _herself_ and stuffed in an emotionless soldier.

The man spoke in words that I couldn't understand, and I'm positive that they weren't Russian words, and then he turned to Yinsen and I, spoke more words and then left.

"He wants us to rid her of her restraints and then get back to work," Yinsen translated as he cautiously moved to free Percy's face from the chair. I didn't hesitate, I freed Percy's arms. Over the few weeks that we had been in this cave with her, both Yinsen and I had grown to like her. She was really less a soldier than a victim from what we learned about her, and from what we had just seen. She didn't deserve what's happened to her.

I remember the first dream that she had woken up from pretty clearly, she had told me all about it.

_I had just gotten to sleep. Yinsen had decided to get some sleep immediately once Percy had drifted off, and I joined them. I had already been up for almost two days working on plans that neither of them knew about, I needed the rest. It felt as though I had been asleep for only thirty minutes when I woke up to Percy, yelping loudly and falling off of the mat that she had fallen asleep on. She woke up and almost at once, she started crying, though I could tell that she was suppressing most of her sobs. I looked to Yinsen to find him still sleeping, she hadn't woken him up._

_So since I knew that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon, I decided to see what was wrong. I know that she was only there to keep us in check, but after finding out that she was more than just a soldier for the enemy, I had kind of just accepted that she was like us, here not because she wanted to be, but because someone else had messed with her life. Not as a real soldier, but as a toy soldier instead. She didn't even react when I got closer to her, it was like she couldn't see me._

_"Hey," I whispered in an attempt to let her know I was there. She looked up at me and I stared back, finding a truly broken person, not at all like the curious, childish girl that had first been brought into this cave._

_"S-sorry, I'm s-so sorry..." She tried wiping away her tears, but I took one of her hands and just held it. It was heavily calloused and I could feel the scars littering her hands._

_"Don't apologise. Even the strongest of us need to let ourselves be weak for a little while." Even if I was taught something different when my dad was still around, I knew that this was better advice than to 'Quit your whining, no one will care for you for long if you don't stop being a little spoiled brat. Tough it out and be a man for once.' I had just broken my arm then, but that was what I had been told. Not exactly the best fatherly advice I had been given. He had been drunk too, so that may have swayed his words._

_And she broke down, using my shoulder to cry on. I didn't complain, she needed that shoulder at the moment and so she would have it. After around thirty minutes, her tears started to run out and her sobs became little hiccups._

_"Thank you..." She whispered to me, looking up into my eyes. Her own were puffy and red, but she had just gotten done crying, so I could understand that._

_"Was it a nightmare?" I asked her, concern coating my voice as I spoke as softly as I could. She nodded and looked down. "It was more of a memory, but it was a terrible one." Her voice was thick with her tears and cracked when she was saying 'terrible' so I nodded, knowing a bit of what bad memories were like in dreams._

_"Do you want to talk about it?" She looked at me and I saw someone who had been completely shattered, scrambling and doing her best to gather the broken pieces and put them together again. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it might help," I tried coaxing it out of her, but made it known that she didn't have to if she didn't want to. It was just from my experience ,when Jarvis was raising me, that it did help._

_She nodded her head and took a breath. "Um... I was maybe fourteen, and it was almost christmas. I would usually disappear during summers, but that year I had to disappear in winter. My friend had found two people, they were supposedly my cousins. But it was after that and one of my cousins, a girl named Bianca." Her voice cracked on her cousin's name, and I could tell that this wasn't going to be happy._

_"We-we... Bianca, my other cousin Thalia, my friend Grover and a girl named... A girl named Z-zoe. We were traveling a-across the country, to a mountain in California and we had made it to Texas. We had gone into a junkyard. It was called the Junkyard of The gods, supposedly it was a place where Hephaestus threw down all of the things that weren't wanted. Projects that were defective, weapons that didn't turn out as planned, items that the gods no longer wanted._

_"There was only_ one _rule to the junkyard. Never take anything from it, or you would pay the price..." She took a shaky breath before continuing, and I could see that she was back there, with that memory in this 'Junkyard of The gods' with her friends and family. "We had made it through to the other side, the road was_ right there _... and that was when we all heard a loud noise from the junkyard. We... We looked back, and there, standing tall, was a giant." I didn't expect that._

_What kind of memory is this?_

_"The giant was made of metal, an automaton. It was in Greek battle armor and Zoe said that it must have been a prototype for the Talos giant that walked the shores of Crete. Someone had taken something. Thalia didn't, Grover would never even_ think _to take from it, I hadn't taken anything and Zoe - well, Zoe was about as Hellenistic as you could get, if a Junkyard was labeled the Junkyard of The gods, she would never dream of taking_ anything _from them. It was Bianca. My little cousin, her little brother was into the Greek gods, he had collected a bunch of cards for a game of them._

_"The giant started attacking us because she had taken a little statue of a god for him. And we were doing pretty well for a handful of kids. I had seen, on the giant's foot, a maintenance hatch. I pointed it out to the others, and Bianca shoved the statue into my hand, told me to take care of her little brother and she ran right under it and it stepped on her... She... Must have made it into the hatch because a few moments later it started to act strange. And then it walked, right into a powerline..." Well sh*t. More tears started to flow from her eyes as she continued on. "M-metal is a p-powerful con-ductor for e-electricity... We-we never even found her body... She died and it was_ my _fault! She was only twelve!" Double sh*t._

_I took her face in my hand and wiped away her tears, shushing her. She brought her hands up to my own. "It's my fault, she died because of me, it should have been me-"_

_"Percy," I cut her off. "You listen to me. It was not your fault, you did not kill her."_

_"But I_ promised _her brother, I promised him that I would_ protect _her! I promised him that and I couldn't even keep it! I saw that hatch, I could have gone into it instead, it didn't have to be her."_

_"Percy, look at me." She did and I could see that she was failing to piece herself together again, she blamed herself and it wasn't even her fault. Her cousin had made her choice, it wasn't Percy's idea. "It_ wasn't _your fault, it_ wasn't _your choice, and it_ wasn't your idea _for her to go in there like she did. She chose to have you continue on and it was_ her choice _. It may not have been the nicest one, and it may not have been a choice everyone agreed on, but it is the very reason that_ you _are the person you are today. You are_ not _to blame for her actions, so don't go putting the weight of the world on your shoulders. You've already had that weight and you got rid of it. Now try and do it again like_ I know _you can."_

_She looked at me and a small, broken smile made its way onto her face. "I... I'll try..." I calmed her and she placed her head on my shoulder, me wrapping my arms around her in a comforting hug. We stayed in each others company,_ just like that _. Soon, her breathing evened out and I knew that she had fallen asleep. Somehow, I was able to fall asleep too, and that night, I dreamt of metal giants and a junkyard made for gods._

It had only been two weeks since that night happened, but Percy and I had gotten closer since then. She shared with me all of the stories and pain and nightmares and memories she found and remembered, though, sometimes she would edit them slightly. I could tell that much about the memories of her going across the country and to other places around the world as a teenager. So seeing her like this right now, it was hard for me to not see what had just been taken from her again. She suffered through a big portion of her life, she didn't deserve to become a puppet.

"Percy?" I tried speaking to her, to get her to remember some of her life again by using her name. She turned her head to me, so I knew that she knew I was addressing her. She looked confused though.

"PAB-24."

I shook my head and a clear picture of sadness shown on my face. "No, you're Percy."

"Am I?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you're Percy, not PAB-24."

"Why do you know if I am Percy and not PAB-24?"

"Because, you remembered things. Your life, the one you had before you were forced to become PAB-24 and you shared those memories with me." I explained this to her as best I could, hoping that it might be able to reverse the memory wipe they had just performed on her.

"I am without orders. So can you tell me? About those memories I shared?" She asked this of me and I smiled. I started to get to work as we had been told and had Percy sit nearby as I told her about all of the memories and stories she had shared with me of her life. I could tell that Yinsen was listening to these as well, Percy had made sure that Yinsen didn't hear them before, she didn't fully trust him. But I do, so I still shared them all with her.

I shared her childhood stories, her brother and her best friend, her life at that old summer camp, even the stories that she edited for me to not know all of the picture. I continued to tell her the stories even after I stopped working for the night, and I could see that with each story I told her, her eyes started to rebuild into the ones I had known before. The eyes that were broken but still there. As opposed to the eyes she had after the memory wipe that held nothing at all. It's better to be broken and know who you are, than to be empty, and a readily used puppet, who knew nothing of who they were.

I felt bad about when that look started coming back. Because like that night with the first nightmare she shared, she got that look. The look of someone who was trying to find a way. A way to get the weight of the world off of their shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:The first two chapters will be in no ones POV. Percabeth will not be in this book. I'll set up the ships later on, but I do want to hear what ship you guys want. I already have a set path for Percy to follow, but setting up the other ships will be nice to let you guy have. There is NO GUARANTEE that I will use the ship, especially if they are like Percy and have a set path for them to follow.


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